May 08, 2009 |

Enjoying our vacation and wanted to get a few points up. On the drive to the beach I couldn’t listen to all of the Caps game. Lost the signal in the 2nd period when it was 1-1. From what I heard the Caps were outplayed but still had a chance to win at the end. They need to win tonight’s game at the Igloo or the ghost of series past will start to haunt them.

I am not shocked or surprised that another baseball player has been suspended for taking a banned substance. It keeps my disillusionment with baseball going.

Manny, what were you thinking? Since you are not a woman I don’t think you used hCG as a fertility drug. There is a hCG diet, in which patients are injected with the hormone to accelerate weight loss. It is combined with a 500 calory low fat/low carb diet. Or a man can use it to boast their production of testosterone after they have cycled off of steroids. Which one was it Manny? With all the other players that have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, I cannot give you the benefit of the doubt. Could it be, this is the first time you were caught? It’s sad, but I’ll think of you as a cheater now. You are guilty, until you prove your innocence to me.

Don’t hide behind the standard, ….on the advice of counsel, I cannot comment, bullsh!#. You’ve already been suspended for 50 games. Tell us the truth! I would respect you more if you said, I cheated and got caught. What would you do if you could make 25 million a year? If you had a legitimate reason for using hCG will anyone believe it now? The really sad part is MLB has a list of banned substances you could have looked at. Or you and your doctor could have called MLB. They have an 800# for you and your physician to call. At the very least, you were too lazy to check, and at the worst you knowingly tried to cheat.

The only people I feel sorry for are the young fans in Puerto Rico and throughout the world. How do you explain his suspension to all of those kids who wanted to be Manny? They have lost another hero. The Dodgers knew what they were getting when they resigned Manny. He has been a great hitter who is very flaky. Personally, I couldn’t have resigned him knowing he quit on Boston last year and could do the same thing to the Dodgers.

I’m not believer in the Yankees as serious contenders this year. They have the same issues as the Orioles. They don’t have enough starting pitching to contend. They have a good offense but they are below average on defense. They have older players in key spots. These players are more susceptible to injuries (See Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Jose Molina). Older players simply take longer to recover from injuries. They may finish as high as 3rd but are just as likely to finish in 4th, barely ahead of the O’s.

The Yankees, losers of 5 straight, are coming to town for a weekend series at the Yard. The pitching matchups are: Fri- Sabathia (4.85) vs. Guthrie (5.05), Sat – Hughes (2.70) vs. Eaton (7.18), Sun–Chamberlain (3.77) vs. Uehara (4.42) . Neither team is pitching with any consistency . The starters aren’t going deep into games. These are two bad teams playing each other.

The Yankees will get a boost to their lineup with Alex Rodriguez’s return. He will make his 2009 debut in Baltimore. He is a great player returning from a hip injury. This is his first appearance in a Major League ballpark since admitting he used steroids. Mark Teixeira makes his second appearance in Baltimore, since he signed with the Yankees.

I don’t care what the national media says. I hoped they are both booed until they cry. One is an admitted cheater who may have lied about how long he has cheated. The other said he would love play for his hometown team and then ran for the money. Besides, if you cannot boo the Yankees, who can you boo?

I’ll predict close games on Friday & Sunday and we win both. Saturday, we’ll get blown out in an ugly game. In between periods of the Caps game, I’ll be watching the O’s. I hope to hear you all the way in OC! Give those Damn Yankees Hell, Baltimore!!!!!!!